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Brotherhood
The year is 1867, the South has been defeated, and the American Civil War is over. But the conflict goes on. Yankees now patrol the streets of Richmond, Virginia, and its citizens, both black and white, are struggling to redefine their roles and relationships. By day, fourteen-year-old Shadrach apprentices with a tailor and sneaks off for reading lessons with Rachel, a freed slave, at her school for African-American children. By night he follows his older brother to the meetings of a group whose stated mission is to protect Confederate widows like their mother. But as the true murderous intentions of the brotherhood—-now known as the Ku Klux Klan—-are revealed, Shad finds himself trapped between old loyalties and what he knows is right.
A powerful and unflinching story of a family caught in the enormous social and political upheaval of the period of Reconstruction.
A powerful and unflinching story of a family caught in the enormous social and political upheaval of the period of Reconstruction.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
55 people are currently reading
1177 people want to read
About the author
A.B. Westrick
4 books34 followersA. B. Westrick is the daughter of Southerners who sought to leave the South behind. Raised in Pennsylvania, she later moved with her husband to Virginia and spent hours walking Richmond’s brick streets, wondering how her ancestors had fared during and after the War between the States. BROTHERHOOD grew from those wonderings. A.B. Westrick has been a teacher, paralegal, literacy volunteer, administrator, and coach for teams from Odyssey of the Mind to the Reading Olympics. A graduate of Stanford University and Yale Divinity School, she received an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2011. BROTHERHOOD is her first novel. She and her family live in Richmond, Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews
March 11, 2013
Based on ARC
This book depicts literary conflict flawlessly. Young Shad is reminiscent of Huck Finn--he is steeped in the ways of the South (including the KKK), but finds himself attending a secretive Colored school to learn to read. He has to choose between the Brotherhood, which includes his family and neighbors, and his new friends. To make sure his friends are safe means to betray his family.
Westrick is also a master at setting. The reader is set firmly in post-Civil War Richmond, Virginia. She shows the conflict from the Southern perspective, one we rarely see. It's real, not sugar-coated or glossed over. This story and its characters will stick with you long after you're done reading.
This book depicts literary conflict flawlessly. Young Shad is reminiscent of Huck Finn--he is steeped in the ways of the South (including the KKK), but finds himself attending a secretive Colored school to learn to read. He has to choose between the Brotherhood, which includes his family and neighbors, and his new friends. To make sure his friends are safe means to betray his family.
Westrick is also a master at setting. The reader is set firmly in post-Civil War Richmond, Virginia. She shows the conflict from the Southern perspective, one we rarely see. It's real, not sugar-coated or glossed over. This story and its characters will stick with you long after you're done reading.
September 18, 2013
Brotherhood, by A.B. Westrick, is a powerful lesson in situational ethics, how our upbringing, world events, and personal ties shape us, and how we struggle to distinguish right from wrong in our own minds and hearts. Brotherhood is about a young boy coming of age, questioning his conscience, wondering who to trust; it’s about family, country, history, race, prejudice, injustice, and so much more. I found myself immediately hooked on the story of the young Shadrach Weaver, trying desperately to balance his need for approval with his search for acceptance in a post Civil War era simmering in hatred and violence. Shad’s explosive relationship with his dominant older brother in his fatherless household, and his blossoming relationship with a well-educated freed slave named Rachel challenges him to see race, women, himself, and the world in a new way. There is so much to love about this book—and the end left me with many unanswered questions in a story I’d love to see continued.
This story should be read by young teenagers. Reconstruction is a period of history often glossed over in history classes, but this book will make students think! Aside from the historical lessons it provides, It also deals with societal pressure to conform without questioning, and shows how teens sometime find themselves in situations they never intended to be in. Wonderful, thought provoking story on multiple levels.
This story should be read by young teenagers. Reconstruction is a period of history often glossed over in history classes, but this book will make students think! Aside from the historical lessons it provides, It also deals with societal pressure to conform without questioning, and shows how teens sometime find themselves in situations they never intended to be in. Wonderful, thought provoking story on multiple levels.
April 13, 2017
“The Civil War has ended, but the conflict isn’t over.”
Outstanding treatment of a sensitive and controversial topic: the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Reconstruction South, specifically Richmond, VA. Appropriately, the protagonist is a white teen boy caught in conflicting currents of loyalties, commitments and aspirations. The reader is swept along with his ambivalence (and occasional stupidity) as he treads this murky maze.
“Those who survive in Richmond reinvent themselves as circumstances dictate.”
Best map (U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Map of Richmond, 1867) in any book ever, including famous fantasy trilogies. Magnifying-glass-worthy detail. Yes, maps are a big deal to me.
“Of course, he’d have asked, but while the girls were standing in front of him, he’d been too flustered to think.”
Excellent use of inner voice and vocabulary to establish both the age and view point of the protagonist, Shad. That he has dyslexia is revealed without using the modern term.
“If the world had ended at that very moment with Shad singing “Glory, hallelujah” in a shed full of coloreds, he’d have gone to his maker with a smile on his face.”
There were southern whites--rich and poor-- who opposed slavery. Likewise Reconstruction hardened many whites prejudice against blacks. Westrick plumbs both. Even better she explores the inner struggle of a young man who was torn between beliefs.
“Sure as his measuring strip was long, that lady was laughing on the inside, but she was doing a fine job of not showing it.”
Quibbles: For a book apparently aimed at young adult readers its convoluted timelines will confuse many readers. Numerous errors and anachronisms knock the reader out of the story, such as metal railroad ties, metal buckets owned by the poor, wire mesh, cotton growing in nineteenth century Virginia, the term “political prisoners.” Westrick avoids certain emotionally-charged words, but blithely uses others.
“His running with the Klan--that was the other Shad. The Shad who was learning to stand up to his brother, make his mother proud, protect widows, grow up, be a man. That Shad wasn’t this one--the Tailoring Teacher and struggling student. No, they’re not the same at all, and he’d do everything he could to keep them apart.”
Shad’s conviction and conversion is too easy, but it would require a work of Dickensian complexity to pursue it more realistically. What Westrick delivers suffices.
“How could he lie? But how could he not?”
In her Author’s Note, Westrick explores why such sentiments linger. She quotes, “The North kept kicking us even though we were already down. The United States treated Japan and Germany after World War II better than the North treated the South after the War Between the States.”
Extra credit because this is her first novel.
“But what Jeremiah said and what he did--well, Shad knew those two didn’t always line up.”
Outstanding treatment of a sensitive and controversial topic: the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Reconstruction South, specifically Richmond, VA. Appropriately, the protagonist is a white teen boy caught in conflicting currents of loyalties, commitments and aspirations. The reader is swept along with his ambivalence (and occasional stupidity) as he treads this murky maze.
“Those who survive in Richmond reinvent themselves as circumstances dictate.”
Best map (U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Map of Richmond, 1867) in any book ever, including famous fantasy trilogies. Magnifying-glass-worthy detail. Yes, maps are a big deal to me.
“Of course, he’d have asked, but while the girls were standing in front of him, he’d been too flustered to think.”
Excellent use of inner voice and vocabulary to establish both the age and view point of the protagonist, Shad. That he has dyslexia is revealed without using the modern term.
“If the world had ended at that very moment with Shad singing “Glory, hallelujah” in a shed full of coloreds, he’d have gone to his maker with a smile on his face.”
There were southern whites--rich and poor-- who opposed slavery. Likewise Reconstruction hardened many whites prejudice against blacks. Westrick plumbs both. Even better she explores the inner struggle of a young man who was torn between beliefs.
“Sure as his measuring strip was long, that lady was laughing on the inside, but she was doing a fine job of not showing it.”
Quibbles: For a book apparently aimed at young adult readers its convoluted timelines will confuse many readers. Numerous errors and anachronisms knock the reader out of the story, such as metal railroad ties, metal buckets owned by the poor, wire mesh, cotton growing in nineteenth century Virginia, the term “political prisoners.” Westrick avoids certain emotionally-charged words, but blithely uses others.
“His running with the Klan--that was the other Shad. The Shad who was learning to stand up to his brother, make his mother proud, protect widows, grow up, be a man. That Shad wasn’t this one--the Tailoring Teacher and struggling student. No, they’re not the same at all, and he’d do everything he could to keep them apart.”
Shad’s conviction and conversion is too easy, but it would require a work of Dickensian complexity to pursue it more realistically. What Westrick delivers suffices.
“How could he lie? But how could he not?”
In her Author’s Note, Westrick explores why such sentiments linger. She quotes, “The North kept kicking us even though we were already down. The United States treated Japan and Germany after World War II better than the North treated the South after the War Between the States.”
Extra credit because this is her first novel.
“But what Jeremiah said and what he did--well, Shad knew those two didn’t always line up.”
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April 21, 2017this book surprised me
February 13, 2018
“The Klan was a good thing…the brotherhood, the chickens..Men supporting on another.they were part of a brotherhood that cared for widows and Confederate orphans and the rest. But this business about burning a colored school? Shad couldn’t let the Klan do it.” (Pg. 229)
Ah yes--a YA novel on the Reconstruction and the Klu Klux Klan told from their point of view—poor white men scared and reluctant to acknowledge the intelligence and equality of the colored population… I am so intrigued!—and then when it starts with a letter to readers apologizing and acknowledging the racist views of his characters in advance, with his intention to not justify its views but draw readers so closely into their world that they can experience his emerging capacity to question the circumstances— I was all in and ready to read this 2013 novel—I am so interested in learning about why people think they way they do and while I know black inferiority and white superiority was how they were raised I love to read about how people grew past that thinking and things slowly change…Okay so Richmond, VA 1867 two years after the divisive Civil War and Shad and his older brother Jeremiah are like most of the families are struggling to make it after the disappearance and probable death of their father....sadly the book said there were no men around over the age of eighteen as men of a certain age went off to war and seeing a thirty year old was rare.. The Civil War hit Richmond hard and every family lost at least one male and after the loss the city was resentful and poor and then burdened with newly freed Negros who they felt were competing for the same jobs as them and in some cases may have even been better educated. .Shad deals with his own feelings towards the blacks in town and even his own bigotry as there is a very well educated Negro girl named Rachel who intimidates him with her knowledge and talent (ah she reads Shakespeare :) and even though she is colored he agrees to her tutoring him in reading only after finding out she is being taught by a white man. It is infuriating and enlightening to read this side as you only see the evil being a proud African American woman but there is also their story and all they have ever know and what they believed as right..Shad and his family believe that blacks are beneath them so he must go in secret at dawn to learn at a colored school from Rachel and then when Shad follows Jeremiah one night and is sworn into the Klan he gets a whole new set of rules to follow..It is said here that the Klan was started to provide protection to the large amount of widows left behind after the war yet a side interest they also shared was also a hatred for the encroaching colored population who they felt did not know their place and were doing their jobs for less pay..…they were so brainwashed for years of believing they were the superior race that they did not want to accept blacks getting ahead or anything..it really puts you into the mindset of how some whites felt and still feel—ah the power of reading because it shows you other viewpoints you may never know..
Shad is caught in between acceptance and his family and his newfound appreciation and respect for blacks and all they know and have accomplished--the tension is there and you wonder where his loyalty lies.. If his family knew he attended colored school and even shared some of tailoring knowledge he would be disowned and definitely kicked out of the brotherhood, but he does enjoy learning and teaching the colored children and even admiring Rachel...There is an inevitable clash and main conflict where all is exposed and Shad must choose; it ends..well there are still active Klan chapters today so does it really end..?..It is an eye-opening look as the author describes of “impoverished and poorly educated white Southerners and how they might have felt during Reconstruction…grieving massive losses of property, friends, and family members while struggling to understand and adjust to enormous political and economic changes” (pg. 357)…A real walk in my shoes kind of read and you learn about racism, sibling rivalry, Reconstruction history and the power and resiliency of newly freed blacks striving to educate themselves and work for what they want and deserve..Good read, glad it was written.
Ah yes--a YA novel on the Reconstruction and the Klu Klux Klan told from their point of view—poor white men scared and reluctant to acknowledge the intelligence and equality of the colored population… I am so intrigued!—and then when it starts with a letter to readers apologizing and acknowledging the racist views of his characters in advance, with his intention to not justify its views but draw readers so closely into their world that they can experience his emerging capacity to question the circumstances— I was all in and ready to read this 2013 novel—I am so interested in learning about why people think they way they do and while I know black inferiority and white superiority was how they were raised I love to read about how people grew past that thinking and things slowly change…Okay so Richmond, VA 1867 two years after the divisive Civil War and Shad and his older brother Jeremiah are like most of the families are struggling to make it after the disappearance and probable death of their father....sadly the book said there were no men around over the age of eighteen as men of a certain age went off to war and seeing a thirty year old was rare.. The Civil War hit Richmond hard and every family lost at least one male and after the loss the city was resentful and poor and then burdened with newly freed Negros who they felt were competing for the same jobs as them and in some cases may have even been better educated. .Shad deals with his own feelings towards the blacks in town and even his own bigotry as there is a very well educated Negro girl named Rachel who intimidates him with her knowledge and talent (ah she reads Shakespeare :) and even though she is colored he agrees to her tutoring him in reading only after finding out she is being taught by a white man. It is infuriating and enlightening to read this side as you only see the evil being a proud African American woman but there is also their story and all they have ever know and what they believed as right..Shad and his family believe that blacks are beneath them so he must go in secret at dawn to learn at a colored school from Rachel and then when Shad follows Jeremiah one night and is sworn into the Klan he gets a whole new set of rules to follow..It is said here that the Klan was started to provide protection to the large amount of widows left behind after the war yet a side interest they also shared was also a hatred for the encroaching colored population who they felt did not know their place and were doing their jobs for less pay..…they were so brainwashed for years of believing they were the superior race that they did not want to accept blacks getting ahead or anything..it really puts you into the mindset of how some whites felt and still feel—ah the power of reading because it shows you other viewpoints you may never know..
Shad is caught in between acceptance and his family and his newfound appreciation and respect for blacks and all they know and have accomplished--the tension is there and you wonder where his loyalty lies.. If his family knew he attended colored school and even shared some of tailoring knowledge he would be disowned and definitely kicked out of the brotherhood, but he does enjoy learning and teaching the colored children and even admiring Rachel...There is an inevitable clash and main conflict where all is exposed and Shad must choose; it ends..well there are still active Klan chapters today so does it really end..?..It is an eye-opening look as the author describes of “impoverished and poorly educated white Southerners and how they might have felt during Reconstruction…grieving massive losses of property, friends, and family members while struggling to understand and adjust to enormous political and economic changes” (pg. 357)…A real walk in my shoes kind of read and you learn about racism, sibling rivalry, Reconstruction history and the power and resiliency of newly freed blacks striving to educate themselves and work for what they want and deserve..Good read, glad it was written.
January 17, 2024
I think it was a very good book with a lot of action on what's going on and this was how it was in that time period.
July 17, 2013
When a book starts out with a disclaimer from the author about a subject matter, it can be either a good sign or a bad sign. In the case of A.B. Westrick's "Brotherhood" it's a little of both. Set in Richmond, Virginia in 1867, "Brotherhood" follows the story of Shadrich Weaver who wants nothing more than to be a man like his older brother Jeremiah, but in the process of doing so learns more about right and wrong than he ever intended. The book is a bit of a frame story that starts out with Jeremiah's arrest for the murder of a man named George Weaver. From there though, Westrick crafts a masterful tale written in the language & style that would've been spoke in post-Civil War era Richmond. As a reader, we follow the induction ceremonies of the Ku Klux Klan & learn that pretty much they'll do anything to keep the coloreds from learning or for that matter even accepting them as free.
The cast of characters from Shadrich who grows up very quickly as he takes reading lessons from Miz Perkinson who educates him in return for him teaching the other students lessons in tailoring to Jeremiah whom the Klan is law & king to his grandfather who understands the seriousness of the business of industry & the Klan especially in a stunning climax that is very relevant even in today's world are a group of people that could've been any citizens & family in Richmond in 1867. The story itself is engrossing & also a bit frightening to see the lengths to which people would go in some cases to make sure the South still retained supreme.
Granted the subject matter is a bit hard to read & for a book geared at 5th grade and up, this may not be one that people are willing to read. However, I urge any parent or child with a love of history to read this book because of the insights into particularly the KKK & a very different view of how life really was after the Civil War. Scheduled for release in September 2013, "Brotherhood" is a book that hopefully will gain more believers than critics especially in this sesquicentennial time frame for the Civil War.
The cast of characters from Shadrich who grows up very quickly as he takes reading lessons from Miz Perkinson who educates him in return for him teaching the other students lessons in tailoring to Jeremiah whom the Klan is law & king to his grandfather who understands the seriousness of the business of industry & the Klan especially in a stunning climax that is very relevant even in today's world are a group of people that could've been any citizens & family in Richmond in 1867. The story itself is engrossing & also a bit frightening to see the lengths to which people would go in some cases to make sure the South still retained supreme.
Granted the subject matter is a bit hard to read & for a book geared at 5th grade and up, this may not be one that people are willing to read. However, I urge any parent or child with a love of history to read this book because of the insights into particularly the KKK & a very different view of how life really was after the Civil War. Scheduled for release in September 2013, "Brotherhood" is a book that hopefully will gain more believers than critics especially in this sesquicentennial time frame for the Civil War.
August 18, 2014
All I feel about Brotherhood is conflict. On one hand, I liked learning more about the Civil war era South, and the rebuilding of it after the war, but on the other hand, I didn't really care for the actual story. Or the main character, Shad. And I sort of have a clear reason to why I dislike him - he's a jerk.
"Oh, it's fine to associate with them in private, but I gotta snub my nose at 'em in public." I didn't like that about him. He spent so much of his time worrying about what other people thought - which meant he didn't even think about what he thought. He was so conflicted inside about it that it just tore him up! While this is very historically accurate, I didn't really like the thought of it.
I did notice another thing about Shad, though. No matter how badly his big brother treated him, he wanted to grow up and be just like him. He's doing what he thinks his dead daddy would want, and he's also doing what he feels is right by joining the KKK. Which I do understand on one level, I'd just like to know how he got to be so easily lead around.
He definitely needed to sort out his priorities. His brother was all meanness and spite, so I'm not sure why anyone would wanna be like him. Seemed like he was all trouble. All in all, this was a mostly character driven book, so I don't have much else to say. It was okay, but not fantastic or anything. The history was interesting. I guess it just wasn't really for me.
"Oh, it's fine to associate with them in private, but I gotta snub my nose at 'em in public." I didn't like that about him. He spent so much of his time worrying about what other people thought - which meant he didn't even think about what he thought. He was so conflicted inside about it that it just tore him up! While this is very historically accurate, I didn't really like the thought of it.
I did notice another thing about Shad, though. No matter how badly his big brother treated him, he wanted to grow up and be just like him. He's doing what he thinks his dead daddy would want, and he's also doing what he feels is right by joining the KKK. Which I do understand on one level, I'd just like to know how he got to be so easily lead around.
He definitely needed to sort out his priorities. His brother was all meanness and spite, so I'm not sure why anyone would wanna be like him. Seemed like he was all trouble. All in all, this was a mostly character driven book, so I don't have much else to say. It was okay, but not fantastic or anything. The history was interesting. I guess it just wasn't really for me.
August 14, 2014
Exciting story about a boy growing up in Richmond, Virginia a few years after the Civil War has ended. Westrick's in-depth research about the era shows. The story and characters remain with me long after I've finished reading this book!
November 9, 2018
The book Brotherhood by A.B. Westrick is a great book. It tells the story of a young boy named Shadrach, in 1867. During that time, in the book racism was very real and scary for any and everyone affected by it. This is because of a group called the KKK, or Ku Klux Klan, people in this group terrorize people and their homes because of their skin color. Shadrach has an older brother who happens to be in the group, and Shadrach without knowing much about the group decides he wants to go with his brother to one of the groups meetings. Shadrach chases his brother to the meeting despite being told by his brother not to follow him. After that Shadrach attends more meetings and learns what the group does, at least what the group wants him to know. He learns that they light houses and fields on fire and other destructive things, he also learns that he shouldn't like the people of color but he doesn't know how to feel about this because he is friends with freed slaves, who he later learns are targeted by the KKK. Shadrach is sent on a mission after his brother is arrested one morning and his mother is left afraid and worried, his mother sends him to find his grandfather. On the way there he finds one of his friends, a freed slave, who tells him that his brother drowned a newly freed slave. Shadrach has no idea that the KKK does things like this and he tells his grandfather about what he has heard and learns the true nature of the KKK. After this Shadrach is forced to choose between his family and what he knows is right. That decision is part of why I like this book and I highly recommend it.
April 3, 2017
In Brotherhood by A. B. Westrick is a historical fiction book published in 2013 is based off the K.K.K. In 1867, in Richmond, Virginia, a 14 year old boy named Shadrach Weaver apprentices with a tailor. Shadrach's brother, Jeremiah, is a K.K.K. member, and one night when Shadrach tries to follow his brother to one of the meetings he is caught and joins the K.K.K. When Jeremiah is arrested by the Yankees for killing a white man, Shadrachs life changes. In chapter 5, When Shadrach is captured, he thinks they are ghosts. I thought the author including Shadrach saying how he thought they were ghosts was confusing because I didn't quite understand why he was calling them ghosts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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May 14, 2018Great read! Very cool to see a perspective of someone that was in the KKK! Even though it was fictional.
May 17, 2019
I think this book is about loving you family and staying with them know matter your beliefs or how you live always say you love them.
October 31, 2017
This book is a book about a child living in the Reconstruction period in the South. While the Civil War is over, there is still strife about African-American people and carpetbaggers, people from the Northern states to take advantage of the South's poor economic state. A young boy is torn apart by his peers' pressure to join the KKK and helping former slaves. A GREAT book to read about a controversial issue.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
March 1, 2016
Brotherhood is a novel that tell the story of a fiction character named Shadrach "Shad" Weaver. Shad lives in Richmond, Virginia during the post-Civil War period. Throughout the story Shad goes through a lot of inner conflict. The main conflict is that he was always taught the colored people were below him and that being white made you better than a colored person, but after meeting a colored girl that is very intelligent Shad starts to think differently and he starts to become very close to a group of colored people. The conflict is definitely shown during the middle and end of the book when his brother gives him an ultimatum.
Overall I did enjoy reading this book. The book keep my interest by making want to know what would happen next at the end of each chapter. For example the chapters usually end with a big reveal, which for made away made me want to know how significant the reveal would be to the development of the story. On the other hand there is one thing that I thought the book could have improved on. I think the author could have been more descriptive of the things that Shad encounters or the place that he entered. For example when talking about the street where all the businesses are located the author only mention the places and not what the look like or how they are set up. This make it hard to imagine the setting when reading this story and for me imagining the setting is very important.
Like any book Brotherhood has a few things that are bad but overall it is a very good read and I would recommend it to anyone who understands the history involved in the book. Also if anyone wants to read the book they should know about the way things were during that time. The book is a book that really made me think not just about the events in the story, but also about the events of the past and present of the real world. Brotherhood is definitely one of the best book I have read and it also has opened my eyes to the abilities of the author, A.B. Westrick.
A powerful and unflinching story of a family caught in the enormous social and political upheaval of the period of Reconstruction. and love this book i just could not put it down even when it was time for me to go to bed i just couldn't put it down and i would recommend this book to people who love to read books about different wars
Overall I did enjoy reading this book. The book keep my interest by making want to know what would happen next at the end of each chapter. For example the chapters usually end with a big reveal, which for made away made me want to know how significant the reveal would be to the development of the story. On the other hand there is one thing that I thought the book could have improved on. I think the author could have been more descriptive of the things that Shad encounters or the place that he entered. For example when talking about the street where all the businesses are located the author only mention the places and not what the look like or how they are set up. This make it hard to imagine the setting when reading this story and for me imagining the setting is very important.
Like any book Brotherhood has a few things that are bad but overall it is a very good read and I would recommend it to anyone who understands the history involved in the book. Also if anyone wants to read the book they should know about the way things were during that time. The book is a book that really made me think not just about the events in the story, but also about the events of the past and present of the real world. Brotherhood is definitely one of the best book I have read and it also has opened my eyes to the abilities of the author, A.B. Westrick.
A powerful and unflinching story of a family caught in the enormous social and political upheaval of the period of Reconstruction. and love this book i just could not put it down even when it was time for me to go to bed i just couldn't put it down and i would recommend this book to people who love to read books about different wars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2016
A.B. Westricks Brotherhood is a great story about keeping oaths and self conflicting decisions. Shadrach Weaver is a young man around the age of 13.In Richmond, Virginia, 1867, his family has just gone through a major loss due to his father's death in the civil war, and now his brother is respected as the man of the house and the eventual successful of his grandfather in Weavers Fine Tailoring, even if he hasnt been in the shop since before his father died. Shad has wondered what his brother been sneaking off to lately and decided to follow him one night and ended up being confronted by a pointy-headed ghost like man. He later is brought to a cave like place where he sees lots of others like the Ghost that brought him there and is later accepted into the brotherhood of the KKK. He realises that this is an oath to protect the widows and the veterans of the confederate army. Later on the next day, he goes to his grandfather's shop and gets some fine Atlanta quilts to go deliver, and one left for him. He is confronted by a girl, a colored girl, who decides to trade him 2 bags of sugar, and when he brings them home to mama, he remembers he didn't get the size of the dress. He goes of to the girl's house and finally gets properly introduced, her name was Rachel and she had a school that she was running. A school for freed slave children. He remembers how he never learned to read and decides to make a deal with Rachel, if he teaches the children how to sew, then Rachel will help him read. After that everything seems to go pretty smoothly. Classes are good, the klan meets from time to time, and mama and grandpa are proud of him for joining the klan. Shad had it made, until his brother hears rumors that there is a colored school in town, and he and some other klan brothers want to find out what's going on.
This book is a very good read with lots of entertainment and lots of internal conflict. Westrick has written an interesting tale of brothers and what they want the most along with their pledges. This book is great for people who like conflict and historical fiction. I would recommend it to my friends and lots of other young scholars. I give the book a 4 out of 5 stars due to some of the slang used in it even if it is due to the time of place of the story, but still I think it was a great book.
This book is a very good read with lots of entertainment and lots of internal conflict. Westrick has written an interesting tale of brothers and what they want the most along with their pledges. This book is great for people who like conflict and historical fiction. I would recommend it to my friends and lots of other young scholars. I give the book a 4 out of 5 stars due to some of the slang used in it even if it is due to the time of place of the story, but still I think it was a great book.
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January 10, 2014 Brotherhood is a novel that tell the story of a fiction character named Shadrach "Shad" Weaver. Shad lives in Richmond, Virginia during the post-Civil War period. Throughout the story Shad goes through a lot of inner conflict. The main conflict is that he was always taught the colored people were below him and that being white made you better than a colored person, but after meeting a colored girl that is very intelligent Shad starts to think differently and he starts to become very close to a group of colored people. The conflict is definitely shown during the middle and end of the book when his brother gives him an ultimatum.
Overall I did enjoy reading this book. The book keep my interest by making want to know what would happen next at the end of each chapter. For example the chapters usually end with a big reveal, which for made away made me want to know how significant the reveal would be to the development of the story. On the other hand there is one thing that I thought the book could have improved on. I think the author could have been more descriptive of the things that Shad encounters or the place that he entered. For example when talking about the street where all the businesses are located the author only mention the places and not what the look like or how they are set up. This make it hard to imagine the setting when reading this story and for me imagining the setting is very important.
Like any book Brotherhood has a few things that are bad but overall it is a very good read and I would recommend it to anyone who understands the history involved in the book. Also if anyone wants to read the book they should know about the way things were during that time. The book is a book that really made me think not just about the events in the story, but also about the events of the past and present of the real world. Brotherhood is definitely one of the best book I have read and it also has opened my eyes to the abilities of the author, A.B. Westrick.
Overall I did enjoy reading this book. The book keep my interest by making want to know what would happen next at the end of each chapter. For example the chapters usually end with a big reveal, which for made away made me want to know how significant the reveal would be to the development of the story. On the other hand there is one thing that I thought the book could have improved on. I think the author could have been more descriptive of the things that Shad encounters or the place that he entered. For example when talking about the street where all the businesses are located the author only mention the places and not what the look like or how they are set up. This make it hard to imagine the setting when reading this story and for me imagining the setting is very important.
Like any book Brotherhood has a few things that are bad but overall it is a very good read and I would recommend it to anyone who understands the history involved in the book. Also if anyone wants to read the book they should know about the way things were during that time. The book is a book that really made me think not just about the events in the story, but also about the events of the past and present of the real world. Brotherhood is definitely one of the best book I have read and it also has opened my eyes to the abilities of the author, A.B. Westrick.
May 30, 2014
A compelling story, on a perspective of the U.S. Civil War that needs to be told more often.
In general, I agree with most reviewers' comments who gave it a high rating, and for the first half of the book, I thought it to be a four-star effort.
However, one critical feature of Shadrach's thought process didn't ring true and it happened to be one that the author took care to utilize time and time again.
Once someone realizes or learns something they hadn't known before, vacillation between their new view of reality and their old one very quickly, if not immediately, dissipates. That is, one cannot un-know something just because one would like to go back to ignorance. One cannot return to the way things were before the rose-coloured glasses were removed - not without deliberate effort to deny the facts.
As revealed in the first half of The Brotherhood, Shadrach was initially attracted to and supported the Brotherhood (KKK) because it helped him 'feel like a man' and gave him, for the first time, a sense of belonging. Fine. Makes sense given his family life, including a brutal older brother, acute poverty, and the burning resentments of 1867 Richmond.
But then, Shadrach witnesses the KKK's brutal, sinister side - including a murder - and was horrified by it. Despite that, the author has Shadrach vacillating too many times to count between supporting and rejecting the Brotherhood.
Shadrach's vacillating was the focal point of the latter half of the book. It felt like the author was just trying to fill pages and it became so tiresome, so stretching credibility, that I was tempted to put the book aside. In the end, I think the author did a disservice to his character. He had drawn Shadrach as being nothing like the brother, but instead being bright, thoughtful, even kind. A character such as that wouldn't take half a book to get it right.
In general, I agree with most reviewers' comments who gave it a high rating, and for the first half of the book, I thought it to be a four-star effort.
However, one critical feature of Shadrach's thought process didn't ring true and it happened to be one that the author took care to utilize time and time again.
Once someone realizes or learns something they hadn't known before, vacillation between their new view of reality and their old one very quickly, if not immediately, dissipates. That is, one cannot un-know something just because one would like to go back to ignorance. One cannot return to the way things were before the rose-coloured glasses were removed - not without deliberate effort to deny the facts.
As revealed in the first half of The Brotherhood, Shadrach was initially attracted to and supported the Brotherhood (KKK) because it helped him 'feel like a man' and gave him, for the first time, a sense of belonging. Fine. Makes sense given his family life, including a brutal older brother, acute poverty, and the burning resentments of 1867 Richmond.
But then, Shadrach witnesses the KKK's brutal, sinister side - including a murder - and was horrified by it. Despite that, the author has Shadrach vacillating too many times to count between supporting and rejecting the Brotherhood.
Shadrach's vacillating was the focal point of the latter half of the book. It felt like the author was just trying to fill pages and it became so tiresome, so stretching credibility, that I was tempted to put the book aside. In the end, I think the author did a disservice to his character. He had drawn Shadrach as being nothing like the brother, but instead being bright, thoughtful, even kind. A character such as that wouldn't take half a book to get it right.
December 11, 2013
A very interesting look at the torn loyalties of a boy who is simultaneously part of the KKK and getting reading lessons from a freed slave girl, and the complicated emotions and motivations of the people living in Reconstruction Virginia. While I was not entirely sold on the basic premise (Shad's dyslexia meant that he was not getting help elsewhere, but his overriding drive to learn to read at all costs didn't quite feel sincere)what I did really enjoy was the exploration of the many reasons why people joined the Klan. For Shad it was not about racism, but rather to be a part of a larger group, to feel empowered and more like an adult, and to bask in the support of a large network of men in the town. He then went along with the increasingly violent racism and terrorism because he so desperately wanted to remain a part of that group entity. Which is its own brand of insidious and awful, but I like that it reflects that the situation was complicated and nuanced. The idea that many Southerners went to war not to protect slavery but rather to protect their individual states rights is one that is not repeated often enough. The book was not perfect. Rachel seemed a bit too assertive to survive in that environment. On the one hand, she says that she pretends to be stupid in public, but on the other hand the entire scene where she meets Shad could have gotten her into a whole boatload of trouble if she had done that with, say, Jeremiah.
October 22, 2014
I have so many feelings about this book. The topic of the book (two brothers joining the KKK) is a hard one to read, it is hard for most people now to understand why anyone would join it and how they could be so hateful towards a group of people. However, A.B. Westrick handled this topic beautifully. Jeremiah is the hated older brother, and trust me, you despise him. He is a horrible person. As a reader you pity Shad and Jeremiah's mother for everything she lost and having to hold everything together while she tries desperately not to let go of her husband's memory. But mostly, your heart goes out to Shad who is a young boy in Richmond right after the war where hatred is still the main feeling as Yankee soldiers roam the streets as the country attempts to heal the rift from the Civil War. This book is all about Shad's growth as a young man and learning how he feels. He joins the KKK as an accident because he wants to know what his brother is doing, he ends up taking lessons from a young African American girl and has NO idea how to feel about it because that is something he was always taught was wrong, he remembers that his father loathed slavery and he has to come to terms with the fact he is part of an organization that does a lot of bad things. Ultimately, Shad truly redeems himself when he warns his teacher of a threat to her school, but your heart breaks for him as he is finding his way.
Brotherhood is not an easy read, but it certainly is an important one.
Brotherhood is not an easy read, but it certainly is an important one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2013
Brotherhood is the story of Shad Weaver, a fourteen-year-old tailor in post-Civil War Virginia, who has to confront what he's always believed to be true in order to get what he's always dreamed of. By night, he's the newest member of the newly-formed Ku Klux Klan, determined to protect the rights of orphans and war widows from the oppression of the damn Yankees. By day, he sneaks into a school for colored children in order to get the reading lessons he's wanted for so long. Of course, it doesn't take long for the two lives to collide in dangerous ways.
I loved the recreation of the Reconstruction period--especially as A. B. Westrick gave us a view not of the upper-crust world of the south, but of the poor tradesmen who may have suffered most as a result of the war. Shad's prejudice against "Yankees" and "coloreds" struck me as one of the most believable portrayals I've read of this kind of opinion so unpopular in our current world. The author never apologized for the way he spoke and acted, but used the authenticity of his emotion to give him a really dramatic story as he comes to question those beliefs. (For the record, he never ends up liking Yankees very much...)
I did have a little trouble with the structure of the book, as the bulk of it ended up being one long flashback. But I ended up not minding a few chapters in because the voice was so interesting and authentic.
I loved the recreation of the Reconstruction period--especially as A. B. Westrick gave us a view not of the upper-crust world of the south, but of the poor tradesmen who may have suffered most as a result of the war. Shad's prejudice against "Yankees" and "coloreds" struck me as one of the most believable portrayals I've read of this kind of opinion so unpopular in our current world. The author never apologized for the way he spoke and acted, but used the authenticity of his emotion to give him a really dramatic story as he comes to question those beliefs. (For the record, he never ends up liking Yankees very much...)
I did have a little trouble with the structure of the book, as the bulk of it ended up being one long flashback. But I ended up not minding a few chapters in because the voice was so interesting and authentic.
January 29, 2016
For those who love history this book is definitely for You. Brotherhood takes you back to the period of time right after the end of the civil war. We see what life is like from the point of view of a southerner. The main character, Shadrach, is dealing with the mixed feelings with where his loyalties should be. He makes friends with some of the African-American children in town. At the same time he joins the KKK to be like his older brother and to make his mother proud. When everything hits the fan he doesn't know who he should support., either his new friends who have helped him and he's grown to like or his family, even though he thinks that what they are doing is wrong. I thought that this book was really good, it started off a little slow for me but got better as I got farther into the book. By the middle I was hooked, I wanted to know what would happen at the end. I love history so I really like being able to read a book and see kind of what it was like to be alive during that time. I would definitely recommend this book for other people to read.
June 29, 2015
I was let down. I had entered the book expecting to be encountering an inspiring story of the bond between brothers, both literal and theoretical. But instead, it only speaks of such a bond, but I never felt one develop.
First off, Jeremiah is a...tyrant. A bully, egotistical, and cruel. I kept reading purely so I could see a redemptive quality displayed.
Shad, though he has somewhat of a conscience, is still a jerk and a hypocrite. He will secretly associate with the blacks, but acts just like everyone else in public.
Frankly, I had to drag myself to keep reading, and never really got interested. The most excited I got was when I found myself 30 pages from the end. It's sad but true.
I could see the potential this book holds, but it really did not appeal to me, personally. I may have set myself up for disappointment when I created a false expectation. But Brotherhood was worth reading really only to say you've read it, and not something I'd read again.
First off, Jeremiah is a...tyrant. A bully, egotistical, and cruel. I kept reading purely so I could see a redemptive quality displayed.
Shad, though he has somewhat of a conscience, is still a jerk and a hypocrite. He will secretly associate with the blacks, but acts just like everyone else in public.
Frankly, I had to drag myself to keep reading, and never really got interested. The most excited I got was when I found myself 30 pages from the end. It's sad but true.
I could see the potential this book holds, but it really did not appeal to me, personally. I may have set myself up for disappointment when I created a false expectation. But Brotherhood was worth reading really only to say you've read it, and not something I'd read again.
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January 21, 2016Brotherhood is about a boy named Shad. This book takes place after the Civil War. Shad’s father died during the war so he lives with his brother and his mother. His Granddaddy owns a tailoring business. One day while he was walking a girl named Rachel pinned him up against a tree. She wanted a dress made for someone named Abigail. When he got home his mom told him he forgot to get the measurements of the person for the dress. So he went to Rachel’s house and got the measurements. He also ended up getting reading and writing lessons. Shad was now also a part of Brotherhood or the Ku Klux Klan. During the evening he gets his lessons and at night he joins his clan at meetings. He goes through one of the toughest decisions of his life. Will he chose what he knows is the right thing to do or will he do what the klan expects him to do?
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sometimes joyful sometimes not and feeling the emotions of the book kind of story.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sometimes joyful sometimes not and feeling the emotions of the book kind of story.
May 19, 2014
Set in Richmond, VA during the Reconstruction, this story depicts a carpetbagger come South to teach blacks to read, poor white Southerners, and the Yankee soldiers stationed in the city to "keep the peace." Through the eyes of Shad, we learn how difficult life was after the Civil War as many families lost husbands, fathers, or brothers yet had to continue making a living. That's where the "brotherhood" comes in as it's a group dedicated to looking out for Civil War widows like Shad's mom.
It's only after Shad works out a trade for reading lessons in exchange for teaching some young black children basic tailoring skills that he realizes the danger of his involvement with the brotherhood (the Ku Klux Klan).
It's only after Shad works out a trade for reading lessons in exchange for teaching some young black children basic tailoring skills that he realizes the danger of his involvement with the brotherhood (the Ku Klux Klan).
June 18, 2014
This is a very well written historical fiction set in the South after the Civil War. It is hard to like the book, though, since I can't really sympathize with the main characters and their racist attitudes. But I think it is very effective in conveying the time period and motivations of Southerners post-war.
October 29, 2014
LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 10, 2015
Fantastic read to spark discussions with young people about slavery, racism, and how our country is continually evolving.
May 1, 2017
Horrible dont read no plot
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December 21, 2017The story "Brotherhood" was an interesting book. The setting is taken place in 1867 after the American civil war. Two brothers Shad and Jeremiah living with their mom. Jeremiah is always being a troubled kid and Shad is always wanting to be like him. The police came busting through the door and arrested Jeremiah because the thing he has done bad was meant to be arrested for. As usual, Jeremiah ended up innocent and was sent home. Shad then follows Jeremiah one night to see what he's up to. Jeremiah spots Shad following him and tells him to go home. Shad being stubborn and doesn't listen to Jeremiah and get's distracted. Shad turns around and Jeremiah is gone. Shad had lost Jeremiah. Awhile later Shad was wondering around looking for his brother. He hears whispers in the air. Followed by footsteps. Shad is extremely scared turns around and sees the ghost,(actual 2 boys with sheets on their heads). The two boys asking Shad questions and Shad notices a strange feeling about one of the ghost. Like he has heard that voice before. It didn't take Shad too long to realize that it was Jeremiah and his friend Clifton. Clifton said, "Are you here for brotherhood?". "SHUT UP!" said, Jeremiah. He can join us said, Clifton. He's a crybaby said, Jeremiah. Jeremiah and Clifton bring Shad to the place where the brotherhood happened. Shad answers some questions and swore that he would not tell anyone about this place. Shad was not apart of the KKK. Shad knew that he had to kill people that he was ordered to kill. After weeks later Shad doesn't feel like killing people is the right thing to do. He starts to go against the KKK. Shad was ordered to kill his best friend and refused. He knows what's right and doesn't think killing people helps anyone. For refusing Shad had to be put to death by his brother. Shad escapes from the KKK and tries to put an end to them from hurting any more people.
My opinion on this read is positive because I like how Shad's character know's what's right and tries to go against the KKK. He see's that killing people isn't the right way to go. He didn't want to end up like his brother Jeremiah. A troublemaker, never seen at school, out late at night. Between Shad and the KKK, it's kind of like a war from good to bad. I felt that this book was very incredible because Shad is only 15 going through not seeing his mom often, seeing in people die, knowing his brother has gone bad. Shad can't handel being apart of all that.
My opinion on this read is positive because I like how Shad's character know's what's right and tries to go against the KKK. He see's that killing people isn't the right way to go. He didn't want to end up like his brother Jeremiah. A troublemaker, never seen at school, out late at night. Between Shad and the KKK, it's kind of like a war from good to bad. I felt that this book was very incredible because Shad is only 15 going through not seeing his mom often, seeing in people die, knowing his brother has gone bad. Shad can't handel being apart of all that.
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